Oilpressure

The NTT IndyCar Series had a rough time of it in the final couple of months of 2023. With a slew of bad news, with very little positive to counteract it – fan unrest was at a higher level than we’ve seen in a very long time. Here and everywhere else, fans were voicing their displeasure and concern about things that have happened, both in and out of the control of the series. Some of it was self-inflicted with curious decisions by upper management. There were also  schedule concerns that were more about track management and the demands of other series. And some was just plain old bad luck that made all of IndyCar’s rough offseason to take center stage in late 2023. Fans were not at all quiet in voicing their concerns, either – and for good reason in a lot of the cases.

There is one thing that fans have been complaining about that doesn’t really concern me, and I don’t understand what the fuss is about – The Million Dollar Challenge at The Thermal Club, near Palm Springs, California. This is a non-points paying event to be held the weekend of March 24 – two weeks after the season-opener at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

I wouldn’t say that I jumped up and down in excitement when it was announced it was going to happen, but I’m not sure why all of the hand-wringing that has been going on. Some people seem genuinely offended that this event is going to take place at all.

For the past several years, seventeen races (plus Indianapolis 500 qualifying) has been the norm. We lost Texas from the 2024 schedule, but picked up Milwaukee – so we still have the same amount of ovals and overall races as we did in 2023. The Thermal Club event is a bonus. It’s an extra weekend, where we can sit on our collective couches and watch IndyCar that we did not have for the past few seasons. What’s the problem?

Some are unhappy about the ticket distribution and the price of those few tickets. There are approximately 5,000 tickets for sale to the general public at a cost of around $2,000 each. It’s not ideal, but I get it. This is a very exclusive gated community that happens to be built around what happens to be a very good club track. There are no stands, there is no infrastructure in place to handle large crowds and the area simply has no way to deal with a normal race weekend. Quite honestly, I was surprised that they offered any tickets to the public.

When this was first announced, I was not happy either, My fear was that this was the first step in squeezing the everyday fan out of the opportunity to attend races. But when I thought about it more over the last couple of months, the less it bothered me. I don’t see this as Roger Penske’s grand plan to have only his wealthiest cronies attend IndyCar races. I see it as trying to create something different, around a weekend and setting that is totally different than any other race-weekend we have seen in the past.

Keep in mind, the only reason this event will exist in the first place is to avoid a gigantic hole in the calendar between the first and second race of the season. With the loss of Texas from it’s place the last couple of years in late March or early April, there was going to be a whopping six-week gap between the season-opening race at St. Petersburg on March 10, and the next race – the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21. That’s too long.

Ideally you’d like to have a race one or two weekends after the season-opener, to build momentum for your product. Remember how wild St. Petersburg was last year? There was a melee in Turn Four on the opening lap. Then the two leaders that had dominated all day, took each other out while battling for the same piece of real-estate. In the final laps, the car that had inherited the lead from the crashed out leaders, had a hiccup just long enough to allow the second place car to take the lead and the checkered-flag. It was quite a memorable race. If they have the same level of excitement in this year’s race, it would all be forgotten in the next six weeks the series sat idle before Long Beach.

Inserting what amounts to be a made-for-TV event at Thermal Club, at least keeps IndyCar in front of viewers for the remained of March. Those that don’t like basketball have few other viewing options in March. This gives them one.

Without points at stake, there is apparently a lot of money up for grabs. I’m not sure if the Million Dollar Challenge offers a million dollars to the winner, or a $1 Million purse for the event, but it will still be a lot of money available for the taking. Most IndyCar drivers aren’t paid on the same scale as baseball or football players. Those at the front of the grid are usually well compensated, but even for the mid-pack drivers – that kind of money is more than significant.

I’m not sure what the procedure will be for the weekend or what this whole event will look like. I believe I’ve heard that qualifying may look different, but Race Day will be decidedly altered. I believe the day will be divided into stages, and not all cars will be involved or on-track during the final stage of heat.

Some have voiced concern over deviating from the same format as other road courses. I have no problem with it, since there are no points involved and the results should have no bearing on the season. The only way a driver’s season might be affected by this event is if they are injured and possibly miss races, or they incur significant crash damage that it puts the team in a financial bind.

All teams and drivers are required to participate, regardless of the fact there are no points awarded. Some of the smaller teams may not be thrilled about that, but it gives their sponsors another outlet for visibility. That doesn’t just mean television. Many of the “guests’ at the track will be exposed to even the tiniest of sponsor decals underneath the rear-wing as cars are pushed around the garage area.

While the teams and drivers may or may not be thrilled about this event, it’s pretty much a win-win for the series and for fans. It gives the series an event to hold a coule of weeks after the season-opener and possibly build on whatever momentum came out of St. Petersburg. Of course, there is atill a four week break between Thermal Club and Long Beach. I am assuming the Open Test for the Indianapolis 500 will be inserted in that gap. For the fans, it gives us an extra weekend we have not had to watch race cars on television. There is not a much better way to spend a weekend, than watching shiny race cars (except for those matte finishes from McLaren) against the picturesque setting of the mountains behind the beautiful homes surrounding the track at the Thermal Club.

Will many of us be able to go? No. I’m sure the media availability is just as tight as tickets, so Susan and I are not even entertaining the thought of going. But we will be very content to get to watch a very different type of event on NBC, involving the sport we love on that we love. Fans have been griping that IndyCar keeps doing the same old thing. With this even they are trying something totally different. It may be a hit, or ikt may be a dud. Yet so many people are still complaining about it. What’s the problem?

George Phillips

This entry was posted on January 8, 2024 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.